The Fabulous 10 Year Business Plan

Boy oh boy, this headline sure isn’t going to win many fans over…But stick with me through this, and you’ll see how it might be exactly what the doctor ordered…

Let’s put it out there, 10 years is an awful long time to ‘see results‘ from your online endeavors. Heck, it’s a long time for anything really but something I read from Jon Gordon’s latest book ‘You Win In The Locker Room First‘ really got me thinking…

He stated this; “When people ask me how long it takes to become an overnight success, I tell them 10 years…”

Wow!

Reminded me when my business partner Tim Linden was interviewed on video so many years ago and he flat out said something eerily similar;

“The quickest way to become a success online is to take your time…”

Not exactly the vote of confidence you wanna hear when you are just starting out right? 10 years? A decade? Come on man, there has to be something quicker….

Let’s look some examples Mr. Gordon shares in his book that add some very valid points to the importance of ‘sticking to it for the long run‘…

– Did you know it took Howard Schultz and Starbucks 13 years before they opened their 5th store?

– It also took Sam Walton and Wal-Mart 7 years to open their SECOND store.

– John Wooden, arguably the most successful coach in sports history….Coached every single day for 20 years, before he won his first title.

Imagine that huh?

I mean, sure there are stories of people hitting the big time in no time at all, but let’s be realistic and play the odds for your best chance at real success!

Heck here’s my own example…I started messing around online trying to make money in late 1998 / early 1999….It wasn’t until around 2005 that the ‘stars aligned‘ and I started making a real income to support my family.

So you will have to excuse me while I pull out the world’s smallest violin and play a sad song for those of you that give up after 3 months of ‘trying‘…That’s not trying, that’s just dipping your toe in the water!

Real results in this business takes years, and there is no guarantee after all that time you will be a huge success…Welcome to entrepreneurship but that’s what makes it so exciting lol

All you can do is play the odds. And odds are in your favor if you;

1. Show up every single day & work towards your goals!

2. Learn from your mistakes & don’t be afraid to fail!

3. Always be growing personally and professionally.

It worked for the people mentioned above, there is no reason why you cannot achieve what they have and more….

Will it take 10 years? Who knows, but anything that has real value does take time to develop. So buckle up, it may be a long ride!

It took me around 10 years to learn how to play the guitar and could finally blurt out something like “okay, I think I can actually play the guitar now” because I mostly taught myself.

But I have trained other people that have taken as little as 2-3 months to learn how to play (not to the level I was at after 10 years but at least they were able to tune up and play a few songs) and other people can take years to do the same basics.

The difference is how much they practice and what their practice quality level is.

Those students I’ve seen years later, play the same as me or even a lot better, it just depends on the person sticking with it or not, it’s ultimately a choice.

“Anyone who wants to sell you overnight success or wealth is not interested in your success; they are interested in your money.” – Bo Bennett

Perseverance. The ability to continue to follow an innate path when you, at times, doubt your own sanity in the journey. It is what keeps you going, facing the adversity, and admitting that the work is worth the reward – no matter the timeframe or effort involved.

I can not remember how many times in my life I have heard people say “I’ll give this 6 months to replace my job” when they look towards building a business, online or off. The expectation of instant gratification removes reality from the equation, sets up the circumstances for failure, and predetermines the timeframe in which one gives up, no matter how close they may actually be to success.

There are no shortcuts to success.

Yes, some people may appear to have found them, but they are not telling (or you are not seeing) the entire story if that is the case. The things you actually NEED to know, to be able to emulate, to some degree, what they have done. Things like the many instances where they may have failed, or the *YEARS* it took to actually learn and develop the various skills they used to set the stage for the success you see today. They may omit some details that actually set them aside from the multitude of people that never quite ‘made it’ to their level.

Usually these omissions in the story line, the boring details, are not done in an overt manner to prevent you from becoming their ‘equal’ in business, but due to having known when they started what was inevitable – and assume YOU do as well.

Or, as in the quote at the opening of this – to ‘sell’ you their “Amazing package of shortcuts to financial freedom”, for ONLY $19.97 TODAY, and limited to the first 1000 people that respond with the secret keywords “I want to be RICH”.

Well, I AM “Rich” – seriously . . . that’s my NAME!

And THAT is the ONLY thing I ever ‘got’ with little/no effort. Try and pay the American Express bill with that, and see what happens!

Be prepared to ‘do what it takes’ to achieve what you seek. Be willing to invest in yourself, as well as your business. Be willing to DO what those that have DONE what you want DID to realize their success. And above all else, be willing to ACCEPT the FAILURES along the journey, LEARN from them, and NEVER STOP developing the skills needed to overcome the obstacles you may encounter.

Contrary to popular belief, opportunity does NOT come knocking on your door. You have to seek it out, and drag it back – kicking and screaming – through the ‘door’ YOU BUILT.

So what are you waiting for? The guy selling a package? Or are you building that ‘door’ to your own future?

And if you want to do it in ‘6 months’ with little/no investment, then by all means, go ahead, buy the package – NOW! Save yourself the headaches, and get the impending failure over quickly. Gives you more time to complain how ‘success’ somehow managed to escape you once again.

You determine your own success. Realize the true value of the path you have taken on this journey, and achieve it.

I think people are troubled by this sort of thing. I remember being afraid of doing things right. After all, once you start taking in money, you are accountable to your customers. What will happen if we actually succeed? How will be able to handle the juggling act when we start getting results and making sales? I’m still afraid of it 🙂

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